The Price Of Happiness
by notamonkey666
Summary: Naraku's dead and the Shikon whole again, but was the price that was paid to high for Kagome to handle? Will the price of happiness be to high to pay? Can Kagome find peace in the one she hates? (Sesshou X Kagome)
1. Prologue: To Say Goodbye

_I do not own the characters of Inuyasha_

**A/N: **first let me say that I know that there is a lot of OOCness in this story so if you have something against that don't read the story alright. And anything in _italics _are Kagome's thoughts

The Price of Happiness

Prologue: To Say Good-bye  


Kagome lifter her eyes from the headstone and glances at the sky, The sun hung low over a distant range of mountains, it's orange hue casting tinted shadows over the grassy plains to the forests edge. Under normal circumstances she would have thought that the setting sun was beautiful and would hav enjoyed watching it set. Now, though, she hated it for being so pretty when she was so sad. After shooting the sun one last icy glare she turned her eyes back the to headstone before her.

How long had she been sitting here?

Hours?

Days?

Weeks?

The painful groan of her stomach complained of many missed meals, telling her that it had been days since she last fed herself.. Kagome just couldn't bring herself to leave those she had loved yet, it just didn't feel right.. They would be cold, alone, frightened, out here in the open under the stars tonight. Especially Shippou, he still needed her to hold him and rock him to sleep, to keep him safe from all things that went bump in the night.

Who was she kidding, they were dead. The bodies buried beneath the soil were nothing but empty shells that held the image of the spirit that once inhabited them. She sincerly hoped that wherever their souls had gone that they were at peace, warm and happy. She hoped beyond hope that they didn't feel how Kagome felt.

Empty.

Alone.

Kagome hadn't had the strength to go back to her time to get appropriate stones for her deceased loved ones yet. New tears sprang to life in her eyes as she ran her fingers over the roughly engraved names on the headstone in the center of the graves. Shippou, Kohaku, Kouga, Kirara…  
_  
…Inuyasha._

A hard lump rose in Kagome's throat as she tried to suppress the sobs that threatened her body. How many times had she cried since the graves had been dug? How many of her tears had carved their paths down her face. If she didnt know any better she could have sworn that she had permenant canals down her cheeks. More salty tears hit the newly turned dirt and sunk in, leaving little muddy prints in their wake.

They had defeated Naraku, but at what price? Four people (and one demon cat) she deeply cared about were dead. Sango was missing and eye and Miroku would probably never wake from his coma. She was the only one who had walked away from the bloody battle with just minor injuries. A few cuts, a couple cracked ribs and a terrible migraine, all due to the fact that she had been knocked unconscious near the beginning of the battle.

Kagome gripped the completed Shikon tighter in her fist. The damned thing was the cause of all this trouble. If it weren't for the jewel her friends would still be alive and well. To top it off the jewel now refused to grant her her hearts one wish: her friends alive again. It wasn't the jewel's fault though, it was her own. If it was for her lack of understanding and skill with a bow the jewel would have never shattered.

How many precious memories had it created though? Without the jewel she would have never come through the well in the first place. She would have never met Sango, Miroku, Shippou… _Inuyasha._ She wouldn't have the memories of the nights they all had shared together under the stars teasing each other, having fun. She wouldnt have the days they had spent together walking aimlessly through the ever changing terrain chatting about little nothings.

Kagome's fingers stopped over his name. _Inuyasha_. She remembered waking up after the whole battle was finished. She remembered the strong metallic scent taking over her nose and threatening her stomach. She remembered turning her her slightly to fin it in his bloodied lap. His soft golden eyes were leaking tears onto her forehead. She remembered his sad smile… and his last words spoken.

"Take Tetsusaiga to Sesshoumaru for me Kagome. Tell him it's a gift of apology for dying before he had a chance to kill me first. Tell him its a farewell present from me to him." Kagome whispered letting her hand drop from the stone.

Kagome released a shuddering breath as she squeezed her eyes shut trying to dispel the memories flooding through her mind. Reaching in front of her she felt around on the soft earth until her hand connected with the hard object she was searching for. Wrapping her hand around the hilt of the sword she pulled it to her lap and looked down at it.

"I promise you, Inuyasha, I'll come back. You have my blood as my word." With those words spoken Kagome drew Tetsusaiga and pulled it hard across her forearm.

Kagome watched the blood run down her arm to her wrist and off her fingertips before moving it over the stone. The blood felt hot against her chilled skin. The pain of the cut didn't seem to reach her, although in the back her her mind she knew it was there. Letting a few drops of her blood fall over the face of the stone she sealed her promise to his soul.

Sheathing the sword Kagome stood and looked to the west, towards the sinking sun, towards Sesshoumaru's land. Looking back down at the wound on her arm she watched the blood roll off her body and down the swords length. She had cut a little deeper than she had meant to and would have to stem the bleeding before long but that wasn't first priority in her mind. With the Shikon in one hand and Tetsusaiga in another she Kagome walked away from the grave, followling the sun.

Kagome walked away, and didnt look back.

**Ending Notes: **well i said before (up at the top for those who read) that all _italics_ are Kagome's thoughts and YES i do realize that all her thoughts are of Inuyasha. Oh and about the other story i wrote, Vision Red i do believe, a Naruto story. Well, heh, see the thing is that story was written with a friend of mine who im no longer in contact with and i didnt know where to go with the story so i deleted it. Sorry. Until next time then.  



	2. Confusing Thoughts

_I do not own the characters of Inuyasha_

**A/N:**

_**InuYasha's only Kagome-kun:** _ im sorry that I killed your Inuyasha but I _promise_ its for the good of the story line. To be honest I felt bad killing him also but I had to cuz…. Well just wait and see ok?

**_SChaos: _**i had a reason for him not saying that he loved her… I suppose though you'll just have to read on and find out why huh? ;;

Alright the little !...! is a scene change ok? Ok.

The Price of Happiness

Chapter 1: Confusing Thoughts

Sesshoumaru watched as Rin showered Jaken in flowers. He knew that soon his young ward would tire of the ugly toad's constant verbal abuse and decide that he needed the flowers much more. Not that he minded much, he had gotten use to the human girl's constant cheerfulness, unnatural amount of energy, and disturbing love for flowers.

All in all Sesshoumaru had grown quite fond of Rin.

As predicted Rin finally stopped harassing Jaken and thrust a fist-full of small yellow flowers at Sesshoumaru with a toothy grin. Sesshoumaru raised a delicately curved eyebrow at her before taking the flowers from her hand.

So it begun.

In a half an hour's time Sesshoumaru was completely covered in flowers of every shape, size and color. Flowers were laced through his hair and tail, shoved in the crevices of his armor, wrapped around his swords and strewn across his lap and the surrounding area.

Rin was running up to him with yet another bunch of daises closed tightly in her fist to stick wherever there was room. The bright smile on the child's face dissipated as she slowed to a stop before Sesshoumaru. Her large brown eyes filled up with tears as she stared at the Western Lord.

"Doesn't Sesshoumaru-sama like the flowers Rin picked? Rin picked only the prettiest and bestest for Sesshoumaru-sama."

With a sigh of defeat Sesshoumaru pulled the little girl into his lap. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the child's gesture; he just didn't like looking like a walking-talking-flower-garden. On top of that he had received some disturbing news from one of his scouts.

A battle scene had been found to the east.

The bodies of the mud-bitch Kikyou, Naraku, and all his filthy offspring had been identified. His scout had said that the scent of blood had been strong in the air.

Mostly Inuyasha's.

Three bodies had been dragged from the scene, obviously too heavy for the survivors to carry, but the trail was lost in a grassy field on the other side of a river. Honestly Sesshoumaru didn't care if any of Inuyasha's companions died, but if Inuyasha died…

If Inuyasha died he would resurrect the mutt and kill him for being stupid enough to allow such a thing to happen. He was supposed to kill Inuyasha and take Tetsusaiga for himself not some lowly hanyou such as Naraku.

"I think it's time to go inside Rin." Sesshoumaru stood up, taking Rin with him. With one last glance to the east he carried Rin beyond the oak double doors into his castle.

!…………………………!

Kagome pulled her fingers through her long wet hair. The cool springs felt good against her heated wound. Looking down to inspect the cut in question she began to probe it with her right hand. A yellow tinted, sticky liquid oozed from under her fingers.

Yep definitely infected.

It wouldn't be long before the infection spread and fever slowed her movements. What Kagome would give to have some triple antibacterial ointment and clean wrappings for her wounds right now. Unfortunately she hadn't gone back to Kaede's hut to retrieve her backpack. She realty didn't want to have to confront Sango or see Miroku in his state.

It was her fault that they were like that and that the others died. If only she hadn't been so weak and let herself be thrown against that hard object, maybe she would have been able to help save her friends. Maybe she would have been able to save Inuyasha.

Then again maybe the only reason she was alive was because she was unconscious. No one would bother with a knocked out girl that couldn't cause any trouble, especially when there were bigger threats at hand. Like Inuyasha.

Kagome glances at the date on her watch, a present from her brother on her 16th birthday. Tomorrow what that day again. Tomorrow would be 3 years since she fell through the well. 3 years since she met Inuyasha. Tomorrow was her 18th birthday.

Glancing back to the east she knew her mother would be expecting her. It had been tedious trying to get back to the well every few weeks. On her 16th birthday though she decided she would only go home every 3 months to check in.

With a sigh Kagome started west again. Her mother would just have to presume her dead, Inuyasha's request was more important. After fulfilling her duty of delivering the sword she would probably never see her mother again anyways. She figured she would be dead long before she ever made it back to the well in the east.

Kagome emerged from the woods surrounding the spring and entered into a grassy plain. Sesshoumaru's castle couldn't be more than a few days from where she stood. Hopefully her fever would hold off until after then.

Kagome go no more than 100 yards from the tree line before a large clawed hand closed tight around her throat. Rough brown fur scratched her chin and chest causing them to itch horribly.

Reflexes kicked in causing Kagome to grab the creatures hand with her own and screamed. With immense strength the demon lifted her from her feet and threw her through the air. Tightly sealed memories erupted in her mind as her body impacted hard with a tree.

A strong hand cutting off her air supply.

A roar from Inuyasha

A scream from Shippou.

The impact.

Harder than a tree.

Softer than a rock.

Dizziness.

Confusion.

Nothing.

Lifting her head from the ground she looked to the direction she flew from. A large bear youkai stood 100 yards from where she lay. A sharp-toothed grin spread over the youkai's face as he looked at the jewel around her neck.

"The Shikon, human, now." The youkai extended a massive hand towards her.

Kagome couldn't believe what she was about to do. This damned jewel was the cause of all her pain, she should just hand it over. But this jewel was Inuyasha's dream. She had to protect it with her life, in that sense she could protect Inuyasha's dreams beyond his death. So she locked eyes with the youkai and chuckled, as she put her plan into motion.

"You aren't very intelligent are you? While you've been giving me flying lessons you could have just taken the damn thing and been done with me. Did you really believe I would just hand it over if you asked? Very polite of you but not very smart. Already you've had more opening that you've needed to take the Shikon yet you don't take them. Utterly stupid."

Instinctively Kagome reached back for her bow and her plan shattered. Her bow wasn't there. She knew as soon as her words sunk in he would be on to of her ripping her to pieces. Her bow though, along with everything else, was back in Kaede's hut. She was the stupid one.

Rage flashed in the demon's eyes as he slowly made his way to her. Kagome rolled her eyes as, once again, the stupid creature failed to take his opening when offered.

With a quick glace to the east, then the west Kagome tried to pull herself upright but found her body deciding otherwise. Her ribs we defiantly cracked again and her leg probably broken. Not much to do but wait for the inevitable.

With a silent vow she watched as the youkai got closer

She was going to die here today.

!……………………..!

A pair of golden eyes silently watched the whole scene played before them with anticipation.


	3. Golden Eyes

_I do not own the characters of Inuyasha_

**A/N: **ok here is the next chapter in TPOH… I hope you all enjoy… well at least **_Eternityoftears_** since she seems to be the only one following the story so far… at least I think (sweatdrop).

The Price of Happiness

Chapter 2: Golden Eyes

Golden eyes pierced through Kagome's mind and set themselves deep in her soul. She remembered golden eyes. Sad, happy, angry, confused, _terrified_ golden eyes. Warm golden eyes that greeted her when she awoke, worried golden eyes that checked her over when she returned from the well. For 3 years those eyes had followed her every move.

These golden eyes were cold, lifeless, dead.

_Dead._

She would never see _his _golden eyes again.

_He_ was dead.

_Gone._

_Forever._

He long was forever though?

Not very long.

_He_ had promised her forever over.

Now forever was over.

_He _was dead.

_He _was sick then though, when he promised her.

A fever.

Delirium.

_He _didn't really mean it.

Did_ he_?

No, of course not.

_He_ is dead.

Kagome's lids slid shut over her glazed eyes. Her head was spinning and her vision blurry. The fever from her infection was taking her. Her thoughts were fuzzy and mudded but 2 things made their way through the fog. A bloody shower, and golden eyes.

They weren't _his_ golden eyes, she knew that much. They were different, colder. They were more slanted than _his_. Who was the person with eyes so much like _his_? Did she know him? He was familiar but in what sense?

His eyes.

That's all she knew. A dark void enveloped her as her last thought faded from her mind.

His eyes.

_**(scene change)**_

Sesshoumaru had known of the human girls approach for some time. When she first entered his land he knew something wasn't right. Fever had been slowly creeping up on her for some time, slowing her movements. After days of waiting for the ever slowing human he decided to speed things up and go fetch her.

Perhaps she had information on his witless half-brother.

He could sense the Shikon no Tama on the girl as soon as he got within a few days walk of her and knew she would encounter trouble carrying it. He really didn't care much about the girl herself but he didn't want her dying before he could rip information from her so he quickened his pace slightly.

Could this human girl be the same one that always traveled with Inuyasha? The miko hunting the Shikon? If that was true that meant his brother was either dead or seriously hurt, he wasn't traveling with her.

With Rin bouncing after him he couldn't speed up much unless he left the child with Jaken, which he hated doing. The toad was to mean to her to be leaving her with him all the time. Sesshoumaru just had to settle with the grueling snails pace to compensate for her.

When the bear youkai appeared, though, it was a different story. The fever almost had a full grip on her and the youkai was no weakling. The bears usually weren't. He had to move quickly to intercept the demon, this girl was defiantly Inuyasha's miko wench.

Leaving Rin with Jaken was never an easy decision for any of the parties included. Rin would always complain that she was old enough, being 11, to watch herself and Jaken would always say he needed to be with Sesshoumaru to protect him. Yeah, right, like he needed the protection of the worthless toad. In the end though Sesshoumaru's word was law and no one dared to defy him.

By the time Sesshoumaru reached the girl she was being held by the throat by the youkai. With an irritated sigh Sesshoumaru waited for the bear to drop her before advancing. The girl, _what was her name_, being thrown against a tree was a surprise. An even bigger surprise was the speech she decided to give the bear. The youkai may be slow, but far from stupid.

Sesshoumaru raised and eyebrow when the wench reached behind her for something that obviously wasn't there. This is when Sesshoumaru decided it was time to step in, he needed this girl.

The bear youkai was no problem killing. Toukijin easily cut through the bear's thick fur and sent a shower of blood through the air. The woman-child was mumbling something incoherent, her breath was slowing, she was dying.

Sesshoumaru could hear the blood building up in her lungs making her mumblings gurgled and short. Something had punctured on of her lungs and was slowly drowning her in her own life-liquids. It looked like Sesshoumaru wasn't going to get any information out of her, she was already half dead.

Sesshoumaru turned and began to walk away.

A thought pushed its way into Sesshoumaru's conscious mind, causing him to stop. Turning around he looked to the girl, her breath was uneven, shallow, and almost no existent, but that's not what he was worried about.

By her side hung Tetsusaiga.

Sesshoumaru walked back up to the girl and wrapped his hand around the hilt of the sword, immediately the swords magic shot through him sending hot pains up his arm and to his chest. He really hated his father.

Sesshoumaru tore a piece of cloth from his sleeve and wrapped it around his hand. Slowly this time Sesshoumaru grabbed the hilt. For a moment he stood still, expecting the magical shock that didn't come. Satisfied he lifted the sword for the dying girl and attached it to his hip with Toukijin and Tenseiga. And again he walked away,

And again he was stopped, this time by the pulsing of his life-giving sword. Ignoring it he continued to walk away, but the farther he got the stronger it pulsed, vibrating his hip. With a frustrated sight Sesshoumaru yet again walked back to the dying girl, only this time she wasn't dying, she was dead.

Drawing Tenseiga Sesshoumaru swung a graceful arc over the body, killing the little soul stealing creatures on her. Breath slowly filled her chest again yet she stayed unconscious. What decision did he have but to take her with him. Perhaps she could be of some use to him, in the means of using the sword at least.

Picking the woman-child up bridal style Sesshoumaru started back for where he left Rin and Jaken.

Kagome, that was her name.

Now why did he remember that?

**_(end) _**

**Ending Notes:** oooooooooook…. Complete yay.. I like reviews… review me please? No flames though I don't like flames… if you don't like the story keep that to yourself and don't bother to read it any longer…. This chapters writing was a little crappier than the others… I'll fix that later I promise…. Well bye bye for now


	4. Knowing Your Heart

_I do not own the characters of Inuyasha_

**A/N:**

_**InuYasha's Only Kagome-kun** – thank you very much for e-mailing me and reminding me about the story. I didn't forget about it I just sometimes get caught up in other things. I promise that I will try to stay a little more focused from now on just for you ok?_

_**To everyone else **– thank you much for the reviews I appreciate them!_

Now where were we… oh yes I remember…

* * *

The Price of Happiness

Chapter 3: Knowing Your Heart

* * *

Kagome pulled her knees to her chest and inspected her surroundings. She had no idea where she was, all she knew was that she had died. What other explanation could there be, she was surrounded my nothingness, an endless white void with no up or down. She had lost all sense of time in this never changing place. Was there even time here?

When she pictured dying she had always pictured pearly gates, wings, halos, a warm environment rich with people, old friends and family long since gone. This was nothing like that, no hot or cold, no angels, no Inuyasha, just nothingness as far as the eye could see in every direction.

A faint humming caught Kagome's attention and she twisted and turned to find the noise. That was another thing she hated about this place, there was no noise. Even in the quietest moments on earth there was at least the sound of the wind, bugs scurrying through the leaf-litter, birds taking flight. There was no sound here, and it made Kagome's ears want to bleed.

The humming seemed to be coming from every direction at once, trapping her in the middle of a ring and then closing in on her. That frightened her more than anything; she was being trapped by a freaking noise!

Something against her chest began to move startling her. The Shikon, held on by a leather thong, was pulling away from her body, floating into the void. Finally giving way to the jewel's insistent need to be free the thong broke. The jewel floated some distance away but was still overtly distinguishable when it stopped.

A hazy bluish/white haze became visible against the white void and began taking shape. Before Kagome could even blink the mist took on the silhouette of a human and stopped there. In the place where the heart of this mist creature should be rested the Shikon, glowing a faint pink in color.

"What is your hearts true desire Higurashi Kagome?" The voice was wispy and light, making Kagome slightly dizzy. The voice, obviously from the creature/person, seemed to have no gender being far to high for a male but far to low for a female at the same time.

"What is you hearts true desire Higurashi Kagome?" The creature/person said again this time a little louder.

"I want my friends back the way they were, all of them." Kagome's voice was little more than a whisper but seemed to carry to the farthest reaches of this damned place.

"I can not grant you that wish Higurashi Kagome."

"Why not, it's my hearts true desire?" Tears fell from Kagome's eyes and floated away into the void. She wanted to scream so loud that it would shatter this place, sending it tumbling away. She suppressed the urge though.

"If that is what you think," the creature/person began, taking on an irritated tone, "then you do not know your heart as you should. I will be here when you do."

The mist evaporated and the Shikon fell to the "ground" in front of her. How many times was it going to deny her wish before realizing she _did_ know her heart? Crying harder Kagome pounded her fists against her knees, trying to let out some frustration.

"Im sorry guys, I tried."

Kagome punched the ground as hard as she could, just for good measures. A tiny, inky, crack split the floor where her fist hand landed and extended out a few feet. Tiny droplets of colors floated upward from the crack, like water dripping from a faucet. Only upside down.

Blues and greens, reds and yellows, oranges, purples, pinks, blacks, browns, in every possible shade, hue, and tint, floated slowly upwards. Reaching a hand out Kagome grabbed one and tried to pull it to her. It wasn't solid though so instead of coming to her it split into smaller droplets and continued their ascent.

Kagome pulled her hand back to herself and looked at it. Where her fingers had touched the droplet were stained a rich blue/purple. It was an oily substance, like paint but somehow distinctly different. Whatever it was Kagome knew one thing.

She had found her way out.

* * *

Sesshoumaru watched the girl as tears fell from her eyes and she mumbled some apology in her sleep. Sleep. The damned woman-child had been sleeping for near 4 days now. Her life was balancing on a pin point, ultimately it was her choice to live or die. 

But why would Tenseiga chose to bring her back to life if she chose to die anyway? She would want to finally be with Inuyasha right? So dying was a blessing and all his sword had done was given her the pain of living through another day?

Sesshoumaru smirked; maybe his sword did have its uses after all.

Not that Sesshoumaru would admit it to anyone but he was hoping, just a little bit, that she would awake. He couldn't help but think of how much fun he would have with this poor tortured soul. She was in love with his half-brother, and he had some of his half-brothers defining traits; the silver hair, the golden eyes, at times they even had that same 'your-going-to-die-and-its-going-to-be-fun' smirk.

There was no doubt in Sesshoumaru's mind that those traits would haunt this girl every moment, waking and sleeping.

He couldn't help, though, but to feel a certain amount of sympathy for this girl, even as miniscule as it was. Here before him was a girl who had lost everything; her love, her friends, even her life once. With a sigh Sesshoumaru decided it was time to leave the human before he became too attached and wanted to keep her as a pet.

He had to kill all thoughts of this woman-child.

Something about the girl intrigued him though, piqued his interest in a way that nothing else had for a long time. Somehow this woman-child, _her name is Kagome_, had escaped a death that not even his brother had been able to do. Sesshoumaru intended to find out how that was possible for a human to do, even if she was a miko.

There was something else about her though, every time he had seen her in the last 3 years she had been so disgustingly happy and yet when she had looked at him in her haze of fever and half dead state she was sad. Sad because she was going to die? Sad because her friends were dead? Sad because she was going to live?

Whatever her reasons he was going to find out. Sesshoumaru sighed.

He hated his father for doing this to him.

Sesshoumaru didn't even know if this girl would ever wake. His sword had healed her physical wounds and brought her back from death, but it wasn't an easy process. In order to revive someone after they had died you had to rip their soul back from beyond the grave and stuff it back into the body. He had learned, over the last 3 years, that in doing so you risked permanently damaging the soul.

And that's if they chose to live.

For a long time after reviving Rin she hardly said a word, always happy but rarely talked. When words finally did come out of the young girl's mouth they were just small, chopped sentences. That was the reaction of her mending soul.

The woman-child was now the same.

She had a wound of the soul.

* * *

**Ending Notes: **since this chapter took so long to come out with I will upload another one tomorrow to compensate. Oh yea I changed the outcome of this story… its still a Sesshou X Kagome story but the ending is going to be WAY different that your normal 'happily ever after' stories… just wait and see I think everyone will like it! TTFN ta ta for now! 


	5. Author's Note

_Hello to everyone_

This isn't **_notamonkey666_** but her friend… she wanted me to post this note for all of those who read her Price Of Happiness story… right now she is living with he dad, she and he mom got in a huge fight and the mom sent **_Monkey_** to her dad's, and he doesn't have the internet there so she can't update regularly for the time being. She will be sending me the next couple chapters in the mail so I can update and by that time she's hoping that she will either…

_**A) have the internet**_

_**B) be living back with her mom or**_

_**C) be living with someone who does have the internet**_

im sorry for the inconvenience but I promise until this mess is straightened out I will be updating for her

Thank's for your patience

**_Monkey_**_ and for now_**_ Jada_**


	6. Embarrassment

_I do not own the characters of Inuyasha. I didn't own them the first 4 chapters I wrote and I don't own them now._

**A/N:** here's the update…** Monkey**: still at her fathers… **Me**? Still going to update for her. Sorry for the delay, don't you people hate moving… I know I know this story has been one delay after another but I REALLY can't help it…. Anyways this chapter is kinda, blah, but it picks WAY up next chapter!

_Thank you for the reviews! This story will never be idle for more than a week at a time from now on. . . . I promise on my baby sisters grave… _

* * *

The Price Of Happiness

Chapter 4: Embarrassment

* * *

Kagome inwardly sighed, she was somewhere between wakefulness and sleep. That place you find yourself floating in just before you become fully conscious or just before you drift to sleep. The place where you are aware of the soft bed beneath you, the warm covers pulled tightly around your body, but at the same time dreams are still dancing through you mind. Her body was completely relaxed, all her muscles loose and limp.

The sound of a door brought Kagome from her haven and she forced herself to open her eyes. A woman in a dull gray dress was at the side of her bed straightening things here and dusting things there. Kagome watched with laden eyes as the woman scurried around the large room tidying, finishing up with placing a fresh garment on the chair to Kagome's right. Kagome decided to take this moment to let the woman know she was awake.

She tried her voice only to find that her throat was dry and no noises would come out. Instead she settled for raising her hand in the direction of the woman who was obviously a maid. The woman caught the gesture out of the corner of her eye and stumbled back in surprise. Kagome pried her eyes open a little farther and saw that she was white as a ghost.

"Im sorry milady I wasn't aware that you were awake. I will go inform milord immediately." The woman said and scurried from the room.

Kagome tried to protest, to get the woman to at least get her some water, but she was out of the room before the small squeak left Kagome's lips. With another inward sight she propped herself up in the bed and looked around the room.

The room was almost completely bare. A writing desk stood just to the right of the bed with a large empty clay vase in the center of it. A chair was positioned near the center of her bed, obviously for someone to sit in and check on her injuries. A narrow chest lay at the foot of the bed and a large oak wardrobe stood just beyond that.

The rest of the room was just cold, bare stone.

Kagome had no real clue where she was or who this 'lord' was but she had a pretty good guess. After all the last things she remembered before the white void was coming into the Western Lands, a bear youkai, and golden eyes. She was pretty sure she only needed one guess to name the 'Lord' of this place.

Sesshoumaru.

Kagome decided that she didn't like sitting here in this bed, in this room, in this home. She needed to go somewhere else, anywhere to get away from the inevitable confrontation between demon lord and future girl. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed and made to stand. Her nose wrinkled as she stirred the air around her.

First though she seriously needed a bath.

Kagome grabbed the garment and pushed her body upwards to stand only to find that a very difficult task. Her legs felt like jell-o beneath her and gave way the moment her weight was put on them. Kagome braced herself for the impact of the floor.

It never came.

A pair of muscled arms were wrapped gently around her waist supporting her weight. Kagome twisted in the man's arms. She didn't need to look to know who caught her but curiousity got the best of her, as it always had, causing her to face Sesshoumaru.

"Running away?" Sesshoumaru asked his voice completely void of any emotion or warmth.

Kagome wrenched herself from his grasp and winced slightly as his clawed fingers delicately scratched her bare flesh and she collapsed on the bed.

Wait a minute.

_Bare flesh?_

For the first time since she awoke Kagome glanced down at her body. Bandages were wound around her chest but other than that she wore nothing. Crimson seeped into her cheeks as she quickly pulled the sheets over her naked form. Sesshoumaru just stood and watched her with mild amusement.

"Embarrassed?" Sesshoumaru asked arching an eyebrow. "You have nothing that I haven't already seen. Now answer my question, where were you going?"

Kagome turned her head away from the Demon Lord and folded her arms over her chest. "I was going to wash up."

Sesshoumaru snapped his fingers and even before the last word was finished coming out of her mouth Jaken was standing in the doorway.

"Yes Sesshoumaru-sama, how can this lowly Jaken be of service?" Jaken asked bowing deeply. Kagome cringed, the sound of the ugly toads voice reminded her of fingernails on a chalk-board.

"Take this woman to the washroom and then bring her to the dining hall." Sesshoumaru turned to Kagome. "We will talk then." With that Sesshoumaru turned and left Jaken and Kagome alone in the room.

"I am _so_ looking forward to that." Kagome mumbled as she followed the ugly, annoying toad from the room. "Not."

* * *

**A/N**: **Monkey** has a ? for you all reading this. Any idea's on what event should take place to make Sesshoumaru and Kagome fall in love? **Monkey** doesn't quite have that figured out yet and is slightly stuck on it. If so e-mail me at … alright alright again I am sorry for taking so long, moving sucks but must be done. I have another chapter from **Monkey** but she told me to wait a couple days before I post it so yea yell at her not me! Next time on: The Price Of Happiness…. Kagome has to confront Sesshoumaru OH THE HORROR! And on top of that Kagome meets an oh-so-very-charming stranger. All this and more next time on The Price Of Happiness Chapter 5: Men _-insert eye rolling-_


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